Education

The state has issued performance grades for the Levy County School District and the county's four high schools for the 2013-2014 school year, and the news, according to some, may be confusing for parents who want to judge the quality of local schools.

For the third year in a row, the district has earned a C grade. And for the first time, all four Levy County high schools have earned a B. One school, Bronson, held on to the B it received for the 2012-2013 school year while three others — Chiefland, Williston and Cedar Key, went down from an A.

On Oct. 16, Chiefland High School's Health Academy freshmen and sophomores had the opportunity to visit Santa Fe College (SCF) in Gainesville.

The students were given a guided tour by the college's health program director. Students were able to closely examine many of the Health Science programs offered at SCF. They include: x-ray technician, nuclear medicine technician, cardiovascular technician, and also the nursing, respiratory and dental programs. They learned what the college has to offer along with a variety of things in the medical field.

Chiefland Elementary School's top-scoring students on last year's FCATs got their reward on Friday, Dec. 5, when they “pie-ed” Principal Angela Thomas, faculty and staff in front of fellow students in the fourth and fifth grades.

The pies are really whipped cream on paper plates, instead of the usual crust-filling-cream ones students usually consume.

The move to online learning and testing at the College of Central Florida's Levy Center for the adult education program where students earn high school diplomas has downsized graduation celebrations but the enthusiasm has not been dampened.

Socks for Seniors is a non-profit community service project that organizes, collects and distributes new socks for seniors in communities all over the country.

The holidays are a fun time of year with all the holiday work parties, family gatherings, meetings with old friends topped off with all the bells, whistles, hustle and bustle of the season. It's the friendliest and most giving time of year but, for some it can also be a depressing time of year and our seniors can get lost in the shuffle.

A Chiefland teacher went before the Levy County School Board once again speaking of a culture of intimidation and fear of retaliation in the school system.

During the public comments section of the school board meeting Tuesday morning, Chiefland Middle School history teacher Jerry Lawrence said the last meeting at which he spoke was epitomized by those two things.

Lawrence said he asked to be put on the agenda and was not, he asked for 30 minutes to speak and was given 15, and he said the board was silent and relied on their legal counsel to respond.

The 23rd Annual Pie Auction for Student Government was held Thursday, Nov. 20, in the Chiefland Middle High School cafeteria. This is the largest SGA fund raiser and it helps to fund projects throughout the school year.